Droplet probe: coupling chromatography to the in situ evaluation of the chemistry of nature

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Nicholas Oberlies, Patricia A. Sullivan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry (Creator)
Huzefa A. Raja, Research Scientist (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Covering: up to 2019The chemistry of nature can be beautiful, inspiring, beneficial and poisonous, depending onperspective. Since the isolation of the first secondary metabolites roughly two centuries ago,much of the chemical research on natural products has been both reductionist and static.Typically, compounds were isolated and characterized from the extract of an entire organismfrom a single time point. While there could be subtexts to that approach, the general premise hasbeen to determine the chemistry with very little in the way of tools to differentiate spatial and/ortemporal changes in secondary metabolite profiles. However, the past decade has seenexponential advances in our ability to observe, measure, and visualize the chemistry of nature insitu. Many of those techniques have been reviewed in this journal, and most are tapping into thepower of mass spectrometry to analyze a plethora of sample types. In nearly all of the othertechniques used to study chemistry in situ, the element of chromatography has been eliminated,instead using various ionization sources to coax ions of the secondary metabolites directly intothe mass spectrometer as a mixture. Much of that science has been driven by the great advancesin ambient ionization techniques used with a suite of mass spectrometry platforms, including thealphabet soup from DESI to LAESI to MALDI. This review discusses the one in situ analysistechnique that incorporates chromatography, being the droplet-liquid microjunction-surfacesampling probe, which is more easily termed “droplet probe”. In addition to comparing andcontrasting the droplet probe with other techniques, we provide perspective on why scientists,particularly those steeped in natural products chemistry training, may want to includechromatography in in situ analyses. Moreover, we provide justification for droplet sampling,especially for samples with delicate and/or non-uniform topographies. Furthermore, while thedroplet probe has been used the most in the analysis of fungal cultures, we digest a variety ofother applications, ranging from cyanobacteria, to plant parts, and even delicate documents, suchas herbarium specimens.

Additional Information

Publication
Oberlies, N.H., Knowles, S.L., Amrine, C.S.M., Kao, D., Kertesz, V., Raja, H.A. 2019. Droplet probe: coupling chromatography to the in-situ evaluation of the chemistry of nature. Natural Product Reports 36: 944-959.
Language: English
Date: 2019
Keywords
droplet probe, natural products chemistry

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